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IPscape launches ‘Avalanche Calling’ for utilities and service providers - manages up to 40 times normal call volume in the cloud
[August 17, 2009]

IPscape launches ‘Avalanche Calling’ for utilities and service providers - manages up to 40 times normal call volume in the cloud


Sydney, NSW -- 17 August 2009 -- IPscape (News - Alert), the Australian cloud-based contact centre specialist, today launched Avalanche Calling, a service to manage dramatic bursts in inbound calling volumes without additional call centre agents or infrastructure.



Avalanche Calling is designed for utilities, insurance companies or any service provider that can experience large, unpredictable spikes in call volume. The service is currently used by a Victorian utility after six-months of successful real-life testing; and is available in ‘answer-all’ or ‘self-service’ mode.

‘Avalanche Calling is a perfect example of tangible and cost-effective business benefits from cloud-based call centre technology,’ said Simon Burke, CEO at IPscape. ‘When a service provider has a service outage, calls can instantly spike to 40 times normal levels which is impossible to manage effectively in a traditional call centre.’ In ‘answer-all’ mode, call spikes are managed by answering all inbound calls with a cloud-based Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system and placing them ‘on hold’ in the cloud until a call centre agent is free. This allows every call to be answered and handled in turn in a simple pay-as-you-use cost model without impacting existing infrastructure. In self-service mode Avalanche Calling uses caller ID information, or customer entered ID numbers, to provide instant service update messages associated with the identified number.


Avalanche Calling Self-Service integrates to outage databases so callers can use their telephone handset to gain customer, postcode, area or product specific fault information through the cloud-based IVR. Each caller is effectively querying the system through their touch tone telephone to gain the information they need in a ‘cloud’ self-service environment. The resulting voice or SMS messages are created on-the-fly based on customer input and relevant information in the outage databases. Real-life testing has shown this level of information is sufficient for around 95 percent of callers. The remaining five percent are then passed to call centre agents as they become available.

‘When service supply is interrupted, customers naturally want to know outage and rectification information,’ commented Burke. ‘The last thing a customer with no service wants to hear is a busy signal, the call drop out, endless lists of suburbs with no service or hours of muzak. Avalanche Calling provides a super-responsive service without additional agents and it’s extremely cost-effective - you only pay for the actual calls and bandwidth used.’ ‘Effective communication during a service outage is critical for customer service. We blended our industry knowledge, clever technology and an understanding of what would make a difference to service providers and their customers to provide a simple to use, effective service,’ stated Burke.

ENDS About IPscape Built from the ground up in Australia, IPscape's award-winning hosted or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS (News - Alert)) call centre and customer contact solutions benefit from over 50 years first-hand call centre experience and the latest voice and data technologies. IPscape's SaaS approach is simple, clever and fast so clients can concentrate on customer service delivery not the infrastructure. More information from www.ipscape.com.au

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